Category Copyright Policy

WHO Head Highlights Tobacco Plain Packaging Victory At WTO; Vaping Lobbyists Hit Geneva

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Dr Tedros) today hailed a dispute settlement decision at the neighbouring World Trade Organization upholding laws requiring tobacco products to be packaged without logos or designs as a way to reduce interest in smoking. Meanwhile, lobbyists for popular alternative "electronic" tobacco products such as vaping are out in force in Geneva this week.

Alternate Dispute Resolution For IP Gains Momentum, Panellists Say At WIPO

Protecting an invention or a creation with intellectual property rights is only truly effective if inventors and creators can enforce those rights. Small and medium sized enterprises find it difficult and costly to go to court to sue potential infringers of their IP rights, and most time, just renounce, according to speakers at a panel on the side of the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies this week. A much cheaper and quicker route than going to court is to seek dispute resolution through a dedicated service, the panellists said.

Protection Against Broadcast Signal Theft Steps Forward At WIPO General Assembly

World Intellectual Property Organization members today reached consensus on the way forward on a potential treaty protecting broadcasting organisations from signal theft, elevating the prospect of a high-level diplomatic negotiating meeting on the horizon.

WIPO General Assemblies Mid-Week Notebook: Heating Up

After two days of general statements, World Intellectual Property Organization delegates delved into more substantial subjects, and convened in small closed informal discussions to try to solve issues left open during the year. Among them is the composition of WIPO Coordination Committee and Program and Budget Committee, both WIPO governing bodies. Others include potential treaties on harmonising international applications by industrial designs creators, and on the protection of broadcasting organisations against signal theft.

WIPO In Good Health, IP Demand Rising, New Technologies Coming To Fore, Says Director

The yearly World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies opened today. WIPO Director General Francis Gurry in his opening report to the member states underlined the rising demand for intellectual property protection, which continues to offer a healthy financial situation for the fee-financed organisation, but called on delegates to look into the future and start discussing questions linked to the use of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence.

WIPO General Assemblies 2018: External Offices, Treaties, New African Collaborations

World Intellectual Property Organization members gather next week for their annual General Assemblies. Among the topics to be discussed is which countries will host new WIPO external offices in 2018-2019. Also on the agenda are the reports from various WIPO committees, with some raising the prospect of convening high-level final negotiations on international treaties next year. A number of side events and exhibitions are also scheduled, focusing on issues like health, women, and innovation.

Video: Hackers To The Rescue – Defining Good Hacking

Noci, the fictional city attacked by malevolent hackers during ICON2018, was saved and the challenge was won by a Swiss team. What is a hacker, how do they define themselves? Two members of ICON, a young non-governmental organisation in Geneva, answered that question for Intellectual Property Watch, with the same affirmation: a hacker is first and foremost a curious mind. View the IP-Watch video interviews below.

Hackers For Good, Gathering Stakeholders To Find Answers To Cyberspace Challenges

For a number of people, the word hacker means bad news. However, if some hackers have malevolent intentions, there are also hackers for good, and their skills were put to the challenge last week as they tried to save a fictitious city fallen into the hands of a group of cyber terrorists. The challenge was part of a two-day event organised by a young Geneva-based non-governmental organisation seeking to raise awareness about digital trust and bring accountability to cyberspace.

South Africa: Copyright Amendment Bill Could Be Finished Next Month

CAPE TOWN – The South Africa Parliament’s Portfolio Committee of Trade and Industry is expected to finalise the long-awaited Copyright Amendment Bill next month. But one more round of public comments is being sought in the meantime, with a deadline of this week.

WIPO, Global Protector Of Creators’ Rights, Hosts A Sizeable Art Collection Itself

International organisations are the repository of many works of art, but little is known by the public of their vast collections. The UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva hosts over 500 works of art, some of them displayed in public spaces, most of them in storage, their value unclear. They have been gathered since the inception of the organisation, before it became WIPO in 1970, most of them given or loaned. What is considered works of art include a diversity of items. The most unusual and rare, a piece of the moon, sits in full view in a glass display in a lobby.